MOUNT VERNON — Even when it’s rainy and overcast, Becky Deryckx is smiling.

That’s because with just a little bit of daylight, her solar panel-equipped home generates its own electricity. Granted, cloudy skies at noon Saturday meant she was only producing between 100 to 215 watts at that time. But Deryckx figures creating enough power to run a few standard light bulbs is better than nothing.

“That’s more than what my roof was producing last summer,” said an enthusiastic Deryckx, who had six solar panels installed on top of her Mount Vernon home a year ago. On a clear, sunny day, she said her solar panels can generate about 900 watts.

Deryckx’s home was among 11 Skagit County buildings that were featured Saturday as part of the National Solar Home Tour. Countywide, Puget Sound Energy counts 26 solar homes as being hooked up to its power gird.

With just 211 of its more than 1 million total customers generating their own solar electricity, PSE is taking note of its solar power producers. In 2000, there were just seven customers hooked to the sun.

“It’s a rapidly growing number, as small as it is,” PSE spokesman Roger Thompson said. “It’s on a fairly upward spiral.”

Awareness of climate change, combined with increasing fuel costs, and federal and state incentives to use alternative energy, are making solar power more attractive, Thompson said.

Following a new state law, PSE has opted to pay its solar power-producing customers a minimum of 15 cents per kilowatt hour for the energy they generate, Thompson said.

In addition, a federal tax break of up to $2,000 is available per residential solar installation.

After decades of interest in alternative energy, Deryckx said she finally decided to install her solar system last fall. She spent a little less than $12,000 to get her system up and running. Deryckx acknowledges that such a high price tag could be too much for many, but says others spend that much or more on vacations and other extravagances.

“I thought, ‘What can I do to get back into the things I believe in as a world citizen?’” Deryckx said as she explained her system to solar tour visitors Saturday. “It’s time to start looking … toward less dependence on nonrenewable resources.”

Despite Western Washington’s frequently overcast skies, most of the state’s solar-power producers live here, said Pamela Burton, president of the advocacy group Solar Washington, which helped organize the state’s solar tour.

“People are much more aware on the west side,” Burton said. “It has the difference of people who really are environmental activists and are concerned about climate change.”

But Alana Nelson, owner of Big Lake-based Fire Mountain Solar, said finances are also a strong motivator. With long, sunny days in the summer, Nelson said Western Washingtonians can often generate more electricity than they need. The extra electricity can then be put back into the urban power grid. In turn, their overall use of power from the grid is reduced and their electric bills are decreased.

“People (who) would not do it for environmental reasons are doing it because it makes financial sense,” Nelson said.

Deryckx isn’t counting on making money, though. She estimates it’ll take between 15 and 18 years for the savings in her electric bill to pay off her installation costs. Instead, she says having a solar power system makes her feel better about her power use. In the future, she hopes to install six more panels on her roof.

“To me, this is just the beginning,” Deryckx said.

* Franny White can be reached at 360-416-2148 or .